WPR Articles March 2, 2015 - March 6, 2015 Myanmar Fighting Imperils Broader Peace Efforts With Ethnic Rebels By: The Editors | Trend Lines Ongoing clashes in Myanmar between ethnic Kokang rebels and government forces near the Chinese border have so far left over 160 dead. In an email interview, Jasmin Lorch, a research fellow at the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, discussed ethnic rebels in Myanmar. Nemtsov Killing Puts Human Rights in Spotlight of U.S.-Russia Tensions By: Richard Weitz | Column The assassination last week of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov presents a challenge for Washington. Current tensions in U.S.-Russia relations make engagement on human rights unlikely. Yet the U.S. must somehow find ways to support the democratic vision for Russia advocated by Nemstov. Turkey Security Bill Latest Fault Line Between Erdogan and Opponents By: Caleb Lauer | Briefing Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party insists a controversial new domestic security bill, which legislators look set to make law, is up to EU standards and needed urgently. Critics argue it will create the legal conditions for a police state, strengthening the government’s hand to suppress dissent. UN Targets Looting as Islamic State Smashes and Sells Antiquities By: Frederick Deknatel | Trend Lines When it comes to antiquities, whatever the Islamic State isn’t destroying, it’s selling. The group oversees vast looting in Syria and Iraq, using the black market as a prime source of funding, second only to oil. International action is finally being taken to curb looting, but will it be enough? On Iran, U.S. Torn Between Supporting Israel and Fighting IS By: Steven Metz | Column Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the U.S. Congress this week slammed the Obama administration’s quest for a nuclear agreement with Iran. That the U.S. has been unable to manage its conflict with Iran, or even implement a coherent policy, reflects the intricate complexity of the issue.   More At U.N., Russia Is Now the Indispensable Nation By: Richard Gowan | Column Commentators in the U.S. and Europe increasingly fear that Russia is set on a destructive course. Yet Western diplomats at the U.N. are often impressed by Russian maneuvers there. A recent spurt of diplomacy in particular demonstrated Moscow’s continued ability to use the U.N. to its advantage. Playing Many Sides, Sudan’s Bashir Tries Again to End His Isolation By: Alex de Waal | Briefing Normalization of relations with the United States is Sudan’s enduring foreign policy challenge, and Khartoum won a gesture last month when communications sanctions were relaxed. But in addition to its international isolation, Khartoum must still navigate the storms in its own turbulent region. IMF Stands Firm, Forcing Greece and Syriza to Accept Hard Concessions By: Maria Savel | Trend Lines After Greece received a four-month extension of its $277 billion bailout program, there are signs that the International Monetary Fund’s hard line on reform and monitoring will push Greece’s radical left government, led by the Syriza party, to the center in order to reach a comprehensive deal. Role Reversal: U.S. Special Operations Forces After the Long War By: Steven Metz | Feature The 9/11 attacks propelled irregular threats and unconventional responses to the forefront of U.S. strategy, making special operations forces the star of the show. Now, as U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down, the question is whether SOF will return to playing a supporting role. Kenya’s Harsh Counterterrorism Tactics Risk Stoking Extremism By: The Editors | Trend Lines In recent months, Kenya has increased its crackdown on Islamic extremism, including mosque raids and alleged extrajudicial killings. In an interview, Jeremy Prestholdt, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, discussed Kenya’s counterterrorism policies. Political Unrest, Religious Divide Push Bangladesh to the Edge By: Sumit Ganguly | Briefing After months of political violence, and with neither national party willing to recognize the other’s legitimacy, Bangladesh appears headed for more political turmoil. The murder last week of an American blogger in Dhaka suggests that a deep cleavage that has long haunted politics in Bangladesh is widening. U.S.-Iran Deal a Gamble for Everyone, Including Netanyahu By: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column If the terms of the deal on Iran’s nuclear program currently circulating in the press are accurate, it suggests the Obama administration is gambling that the time gained by a deal will work in Washington’s favor. That’s a gamble Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want the U.S. to take. Can Mexico’s Pena Nieto Walk the Walk Against Corruption? By: Nathaniel Parish Flannery | Briefing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has finally started taking some tepid steps to restore his credibility after a string of corruption scandals, proposing an eight-point plan for tackling graft, which critics have lambasted as insufficient. He is saying all the right things but still needs to do much more. Netanyahu’s Speech Divides Washington—and Israel By: Frida Ghitis | Column Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a strong speech to the U.S. Congress. But the entire episode sowed doubts about his wisdom ahead of elections. To his supporters, Netanyahu demonstrated his fearlessness in the face of criticism. To doubters, he rekindled concerns about his arrogance. Failed Greek Debt Deal Would Bring More Capital Flight, Bank Runs By: Milton Ezrati | Briefing Failure to reach a comprehensive Greek debt deal still risks destructive financial contagion. That is because the risks across the eurozone have shifted from the borrowing costs on sovereign debt to the danger of capital flight and bank runs, which are still a potent threat in countries like Italy and Spain.